Overexpression of mutant ras in human melanoma increases invasiveness, proliferation and anchorage-independent growth in vitro and induces tumour formation and cachexia in vivo.

Malignant melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. Previous studies have shown that the incidence of ras mutation increases with progression of melanoma, but that such mutations may not be present in the earliest radial growth phase melanomas. Recently it has been proposed that introduction of ras mutations into cells deficient in tumour suppressor genes such as p16 (INK4a) is sufficient to induce characteristics of cellular transformation such as anchorage-independent growth and tumour formation in vivo.

"Block the sun, not the fun": evaluation of a skin cancer prevention program for child care centers.

Introduction: This paper describes the evaluation of a skin cancer prevention program for preschools and daycare centers. The intervention was targeted primarily at staff of child care centers, with the aim of increasing use of sun protection practices for young children while attending these centers. Secondary target groups included parents and the children themselves.

Facial port wine stains in childhood: prediction of the rate of improvement as a function of the age of the patient, size and location of the port wine stain and the number of treatments with the pulsed dye (585 nm) laser.

In this study we examined the rate of decrease in size of facial port wine stains (PWS) as a function of number of treatments, lesion size, lesion location and patients' age. This study was performed at the University of Colorado Hospital Outpatient Dermatology Center, Denver, U.S.

Lesion size is a factor for determining the rate of port-wine stain clearing following pulsed dye laser treatment in adults.

Seventy-four adult patients with facial, truncal, and extremity port-wine stains (PWS) were treated with the flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser (PDL) with laser output ranging from 6.0 to 7.5 J/cm2.

Initial lesion size as a predictive factor in determining the response of port-wine stains in children treated with the pulsed dye laser.

Objective: To evaluate the response of facial port-wine stains in children to pulsed (450 microseconds) dye (577- or 585-nm) laser treatment based on the age of the patient and the size of the port-wine stain at the initiation of treatments.

Design: Case series.

Setting: Outpatient dermatology clinic at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver.